Furnace draft regulator



A ril 29- 1924. X 1,492,486

A. M. SMITH FURNACE DRAFT REGULATOR Filed July 26. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 13% Ts'fi ALZER/M.

awe/W A. M. SMITH FURNACE DRAFT REGULATOR Filed July 26. 1921 2Sheets-Shefiat 2 Patented Apr. 29, 1.92

FURNACE DRAFT REGULATOR.

Application filed July 26,

ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN M. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnace DraftRegulators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which 1t appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in draft operatingmechanisms for furnaces, and is an improvement on my prior Patents1,234,500, patented July 24, 1917, and 1,245,282, patented November 6,1917. I

In each of these prior patents the thermo stat was so constructed thatthe stationary contacts were adjustable, individually, toward and awayfrom the corresponding con tact points on the flexible bar of the thermostat. This was objectionable as it was too unreliable, and a meanssimpler than that of adjusting each of the contact points separately,for a change in the desired tempera- ,ture, was found necessary. Thepresent structure is designed to make it easy to regulate the closing ofthe circuit through the bar and contacts under greater variations oftemperature, the adjustable contacts being capable of movement, bodilyand simultaneously, as well as individually.

Another novel and improved feature of the present device is in themechanism for operating the draft door of the furnace and the damper inthe flue, whereby when said door and damper are set to the desiredpositions, all danger of movement from such positions, except through achange of temperature, is eliminated. In the former patented structures,the mechanism depended upon weights for its operation, and these.

weights, when subjected to jarring, would gradually move and cause thedoor and damper to gradually move from their set positions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide for the use ofthe ordinary. house current, thus obviating theunsatis factory andunreliable battery cells.

Other objects and advantages will be ap- 2 parent from the followingdescription when 1921. Serial no. 487,626.

Figure- 6 is an elevation of one of the switches.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional detail through the switch of Figure 6,on the line 7-7 thereof.

Figure 8 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional view takencentrally through the thermostat, on the line 8-8 of Figure 1'. Figure 9is a rear elevation of the front plate of the thermostat, showing theindicator hand.

Referring particularly to the accompanying drawings, 10 represents afurnace having the draft door 11, and the flue damper 12, to which areproperly connected the chains or cords 13 and 114, respectively.

Mounted on the wall 15, at a suitable distance from the furnace, is abox 16, and disposed through the rear wall ofthe box, and

through a transverse bar 17, in the front of the box, is a horizontalshaft 18. Supported for rotation on this shaft 18, is a largeperipherally grooved wheel or disk 19, and secured. to one face of thewheel is 'a smaller peripherally grooved wheel 20, said wheels beingarranged to rotate in unison. Engaged over the smaller wheel 20", withinthe groove thereof, and secured to the'wheel, is a flexible element 21,which may be a chain, cord, or wire, as desired. The depending ends ofthe flexible element 21 have secured thereto the cores 22 and 23, of thesolenoid magnets 24 and 25, respectively, which are arranged in the box16, below the wheels.

- Also arranged in the box, and directly beneath the larger wheel 19, isathird' solenoid 26, and in the coil thereof is a movable core 27 whichcarries on its upper end a block 28 having a friction element 29 securedthereto for engagement with the periphery of the larger wheel. Betweenthe magnet 26, and the block 28, and encircling the upper por-' tion ofthe stem of the core 27, is a coil spring 30, which normally urges theblock upwardly to engage its friction element '29 against the wheel 19,for the purpose of holding the wheel against accidental rotation, ineither direction, as will be more clearly explained hereinafter. Engagedin the groove of the larger wheel 19, and in the lower portion thereof,is a flexible element 31, similar to the element 21, the ends of saidelement extending upwardly over the pulleys32, mounted in the ceiling ofthe cellar or furnace-room, and over pulleys 33, and thence downwardlywhere the end 34 is connected to the damper 12, and the end 35, isconnected to the draft door 11. Carried by each portion of the flexibleelement 31, at points between the wheel 19 and the pulleys 32, is acounterbalancing weight 36.

Mounted on the opposite sidesof the box 16, are the blocks of insulation37, and secured to these blocks of insulation are the flexible metalcontact members 38 and 38. Pivotally connected to the blocks ofinsulation 37, respectively, are the switch arms 39 and 40, arranged tobe moved into engagement with the contact members 38 and 38, when swungupwardly, and to engage with the stop member 41, when swung downwardly,said stop members being carried by the lower portions of the outer facesof the blocks. Carried by, and extending from the periphery of thelarger wheel 19, are the flexible pins 42 and 43, the same extendingfrom spaced points, as clearly seen in the drawing, so that as the wheelrotates in one direction, one pin will depress one of the switch arms 39or 40 out of engagement with its contact 38, while the other pin will,at the same time raise the other switch arm into contact with itscontact member 38. By this arrangement the circuit will besimultaneously made or completed through one switch and broken throughthe other. Normally one of the switches is closed and the other open,the switch 3840 being shown closed. The thermostat includes a verticalel0n gated casing 44, having the removable front plate 45, and whichplate carries, on its outer face, the thermometer 46. In the plate 45,above the upper end of the thermometer 46, is a transverse slot 47, andon the outer face of the plate, above the slot, is the scale 48,indicating difierent temperatures. Pivotally supported on the lowerportion of the rear face ofthe plate45, is an upwardly extending indexhand 49, the upper end of which is offset to extend through the slot 47,and traverse the scale 48. The lower portion of the hand 49, below thepivot thereof, is

formed with an open-ended slot 50, the purpose of which will presentlyappear. G211" ried by the lower end of the casing 44 is a cup-shapedmember 51, which receives the casing of the clock 52.

Mounted on the lower portion of the rear wall of'the casing 44 arethrough forwardly extending apertured ears 53, and through which extendsthe threaded stem 54, said stem being threaded through one of said ears.One end of the stem 54 has a milled head 55, disposed externally of theside of the casing. The intermediate portion of the stem 54 is disposedthrough and rigidly secured to a block of insulation 56, and carried bythe outer sides of the bifurcated upper end of the block are theupwardly extending metal fingers 57 and 58, the pointed pins 59 and 59being threaded therethrough. Carried by the upper end portion of theplate or rear wall of the casing 44, is an outwardly extending stem ofinsulation 60, and secured to this stem is the upper end of thethermostatic bar 61. The lower end of the bar 61 is disposed between thepointed ends of the pins 59 and 59, within the bifurcation of the block56, for engagement with the said pins, as the bar flexes in eitherdirection. Thus, by turning the stem 54, the block 56 can be movedtoward the right or left, to vary the distances of the lower end of thebar 61 from the ends of the pins 59 and 59 and by turning the pins thedistances can be further varied, with the result that the closing of thecircuit, through the flexing of the bar 61, due to changes intemperature, can be accomplished at greater or lesser intervals, andunder wider variations of temperature. Disposed through one side of themember 51, and soldered thereto, is one end of a wire 63, the other endof the wire being suitably connected to the contact pin 59. Secured inthe rear wall of the member 51, and extending forwardly therefrom, is ametal pin 64, said pin being properly insulated from the member 51, andbeing arranged to be engaged by the winding stem 65 of the alarmmechanism of the clock 52. From this pin 64 extends a wire 66, which isconnected, at its other end to a binding screw 67, carried by the casin44, and which is properly insulated therefrom. Additional binding screws68 and 69 are carried by the casing 44, and insulated therefrom.Connected to the other finger 58, of the block 56, and to the bindingscrew 68, is a wire 70, while a wire 71 is connected to the upperportion of the bar 61, and the remaining binding screw 69.

Extending from the screw 68 to the pivot of the switch arm 39, asclearly seen in the diagrammatic View Figure 5, is a wire 72. Connectingthe screw 69 with one end of the coil of the solenoid 26, is a wire 73,while a wire 74 connects the screw 67 with the adjacent contact member38. The other contact member 38 is connected with the one end of thecoil of the solenoid 24:, by the wire 75. A screw plug 7 6,7adapted tobe engaged in the ordinary electric lamp socket, has its wire 77connected with one end of the coil of the solenoid 25, and to the otherend of the coil of the solenoid 24. The switch arm 40 is connected, bythe wire 78, to the other end of the coil of the solenoid 25. To theother end of the coil of the solenoid 26, and to the other wire 79, ofthe plug 76, is connected a wire 80.

When the temperature rises above the predetermined degree, the bar 61will flex into contact with pin 59. The circuit will be closed from thesource at the plug 76, with the result that the coil will draw the core23 therewithin causing the wheel 19 to be rotated toward the right, toclose the check damper 12, and permit the draft door 11 to close. Thecircuit, in this case, follows the following course; from the plug 76,wire 77, coil 25, wire 78, arm 40, contact 38, wires 74:, binding screw67, wire casing 51, wire 63, contact 59', bar 61, wires 71, bindingscrew 69, wire 7 3, coil 26, wire 79, back to the source at the plug 76.The rotation of the wheel 19 contra-clockwise brings the pin 42 (to theleft in Figure 2) into contact with the switch arm 39, opening thecircuit thereat, and the pin 43 into engagement with the arm 40, closingthe circuit at such point. Simultaneously, with the energization of thesolenoid 25, the solenoid 26 is energized, drawing the brake member 2829away from the wheel 19, so that the latter may turn. When the wheel 19has turned to the proper distance to accomplish the movement of theelements 11 and 12, the circuit is broken through the solenoids 25 and26, and the spring reengages the brake member with the wheel, to preventaccidental turning of the wheel and the displacement of the members 11and 12.

When the temperature drops below the desired degree, the current willflow through the'solenoids 24 and 26, the latter releasing the wheel 19so that it may turn, while the former causes the check damper 12 to beclosed, and the draft door 11 to be opened, thus permitting the fire toburn up.

What is claimed is:

1. A draft regulator for a furnace including a thermostat, a motoroperated means connected with the draft elements of a furnace, saidmotor operated means including a rotatable disk, energizable solenoids,flexible connections between the solenoid cores and the rotatable disk,the core of one of the solenoids having a brake block normally engagedwith the rotatable disk, and temperature controlled circuit closers forimparting and removing driving impulses from the motor actuated means,the brake operated solenoid being operable simultaneously with theremoval of the driving impulse from one or the other of theother'solenoids.

2. The combination with the draft elements of a furnace, of athermostat, a rotatable disk, flexible connections between the disk andthe draft elements of the furnace, solenoids connected with the disk foroperation thereof, a brake normally engaging the disk, a solenoid formoving the brake into and out of contact with the disk, and a movablemember having contacts for engagement by the thermostat, to close acircuit through one of the first solenoids and the brake solenoid tosimultaneously remove the brake and rotate the disk and subsequentlyapply the brake to the disk to hold the disk against rotation in eitherdirection.

3. In a draft operating means for a furnace, a rotatable disk connectedwith the draft elements of the furnace, three solenoid magnets two ofwhich have their cores operatively connected with the disk for rotatingthe latter in opposite directions, a brake element carried by the coreof the other solenoid magnet normally and yieldably engaging theperiphery of the disk to prevent rotation thereof, switches operable bythe disk to simultaneously open the circuit through one of thefirst-named two solenoids and close the circuit through the remainingsolenoids to remove the brake element and rotate the disk andsubsequently apply the brake element, and a temperature controlledcircuit closing means in circuit with the solenoids and the saidswitches.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALLEN M. SMITH.

Witnesses:

C. A. HEDEKIN, ADELAIDE D. HEDEKIN.

